Stay Connected During College Football Season
For many sports fans, the fall means only one thing: college football. College football is one of the most popular sports in the country, and according to a 2018 Gallup Poll, 56 percent of U.S. adults associate themselves with being college football fans—more than professional baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer. That means fans across the country are breaking out their favorite jerseys and prepping their tailgating gear for the excitement and potential of a new football season.
There are more than 800 college games before the end of the year, and fans who can't make it in to the stadium or don’t have tickets will stream many of them from home, work, or their superstitious sports-watching locale. With wireless technology, streaming services have given fans new opportunities to engage without a ticket to the game. According to a study by Google, “30 percent of sports fans say they stream live sports on their smartphone or tablet” and “80 percent of sports viewers say they use a computer or smartphone while watching live sports on TV to do things like searching for player stats and live scores, messaging other fans, and watching related videos.”
Don’t miss any of the action. Here are some helpful tips from T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile for staying connected and catching all the best of college football this season:
1. Know your video streaming options: Check the NCAA’s college football TV schedule to see when a team is playing and where it will air. With a TV sports package, customers should have access to most games through ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, ESPN and more, and many providers all provide mobile solutions or apps for consumer's personal devices. For cord-cutters, look into streaming services depending on what teams you follow. Many of the most anticipated games of the season will be available on ESPN+
2. Video is only part of the experience
Whether you’re glued to the couch or on the go, you’re going to want stadium-like audio to complement your team's most exciting in-game moments. UE and JBL make some of the most popular Bluetooth speakers out there. And if you’re watching in class or at work (no one's judging), remain discreet with Bluetooth headphones like the new Samsung Galaxy Buds.
3. Don’t let a poor internet connection and/or data overage charges drive you crazy
Android Central reports that 4K video streams use an average of 7.2GB per hour. That data use adds up after just a few of your favorite games, even more so if you’re part of the 80 percent of viewers using multiple devices to stream content.
For an optimal streaming experience, log in to a Wi-Fi connection or get unlimited data for your mobile devices, and utilize a reliable, fast and high-quality connection to keep your high-speed data and still be able to get the latest scores around the country even after your game has ended.
4. Going to the game? Charge up!
If you score tickets to see your favorite team play, make sure you’re prepared. Remember to fully charge your devices pre-game and/or bring a portable battery so you can charge up at halftime. Also, be familiar with your wireless rate plan's data limits if you plan to share pictures or videos during the game. For aspiring sports photographers, consider a smartphone camera accessory like the Miggo Pictar, which turns your smartphone into a high-end DSLR camera to help you get the best live-action snaps.
With wireless technology, you can still feel like you’re at the game even from your home. Prepare yourself for the full wireless experience—video, audio and a great internet connection—and this season can be your best season too.
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Trump has blocked wage gains for American workers
by Lawrence Wittner
928 words
On June 19, 2019, President Donald Trump bragged at his re-election kickoff rally in Orlando that, thanks to his leadership, the wages of American workers “are rising at the fastest rate in many decades.”
The reality, however, is that they are not. Indeed, wages rose at a faster rate only a few years before, under his predecessor. And a key reason for the very limited wage increases since Trump entered the White House is his administration’s success in blocking any wage increases for some workers and in reducing wage increases for others.
In fact, Trump has never been enthusiastic about increasing the pay of America’s workers. “Our wages are too high,” the billionaire businessman complained back in November 2015, during his campaign for the presidency.
Naturally, then, Trump and his fellow Republicans have blocked any increase in the federal minimum wage during his time in office. In 2016, Trump stated his opposition to setting any federal wage floor and, since then, has never proposed raising it. As a result of years of Republican resistance in Congress and the White House, the federal minimum wage has remained stuck at a poverty level―$7.25 an hour―for a decade and has lost much of its purchasing power, making it the lowest minimum wage throughout the industrialized world. The minimum wage for waiters and other workers relying on tips is even lower: $2.13 an hour.
Moreover, the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress continue to oppose any minimum wage increase. In early May 2019, Trump’s Secretary of Labor, Alexander Acosta, testifiedbefore two Congressional committees, declaring: “We do not support a change in the federal minimum wage at this time.” In response, Senator Patty Murray, alluding to the 10-year gap since the last increase, asked: “If workers do not deserve [a raise] at this time, then when do they?” But Acosta did not answer her question.
In July 2019, the new, Democratic-controlled House of Representatives passed legislation to phase in an increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour, thereby—as the AFL-CIO noted―giving “40 million Americans a raise.” But only three House Republicans voted for the measure, while Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared that he would prevent a Senate vote on it. Although, in mid-June, Trump said he was “looking at” the idea of a $15 an hour minimum wage, he quickly countered that by stating, falsely, that he had “already created a minimum wage because wages have gone up more than . . . in many decades” under his administration. Since then, nothing about a minimum wage increase has been heard from the president, and the Democratic wage raise legislation remains banned from consideration in the Republican Senate.
Trump has also gone out of his way to undermine the income of public sector workers. In August 2018, he announced that he would scrap a scheduled 2.1 percent pay raise, plus locality paycheck adjustments, for two million federal employees. “Federal agency budgets cannot sustain such increases,” he declared, avoiding any mention of the fact that he had previously secured a sharp reduction in federal income through legislation for a $1.5 trillion tax cut that largely benefited the wealthy and their corporations. In late December 2018, Trump followed up by issuing an executive order to freeze the pay of federal workers. But, subsequently, Congress overrode his action and partially restored the pay increase―raising the pay for federal employees by 1.4 percent (two-thirds of the scheduled increase), with additional money factored in for locality pay adjustments.
In the winter of 2018-2019, Trump attacked the livelihoods of public workers once again, when his shutdown of the federal government forced 800,000 federal employees to go on unpaid leave or to work without pay.
One of the factors advancing the income of American workers, as well as helping to safeguard them from excessively-long workweeks, is the provision in the Fair Labor Standards Act that guarantees them time-and-a-half pay for more than 40 hours of work per week. But coverage is based upon workers remaining under a specific income level and, thanks to inflation over the past few decades, fewer and fewer workers remained below that level. Recognizing that only seven percent of American workers were still covered by the law, the Obama administration raised the income level for eligibility substantially. But, upon taking office, the Trump administration severely cut back Obama’s expansion of eligibility, thereby depriving as many as 8.2 million workers of the overtime coverage they had previously been promised.
Despite these actions taken by Trump and his administration to reduce wage gains, what economists call real wages (that is, wages and salaries adjusted for the rising cost of living) have been rising―in part because many states and localities have passed laws raising their minimum wages far beyond the pathetic $7.25 level set by the federal government.
But, overall, increases in real wages during the Trump presidency have remained minuscule. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor, the real average weekly earnings for American workers increased by just 0.2 percent between June 2017 and June 2018. From June 2018 to June 2019, the increase in their real average weekly earnings was only 1.2 percent. Consequently, as Senator Bernie Sanders has stated, correctly, the average American worker earns less today than he or she did 45 years ago.
Although the pundits say the U.S. economy is booming―and it certainly is for the country’s billionaires―it’s not doing much for the incomes of American workers. And much of the responsibility for this situation lies with Republican officeholders, especially Donald Trump.
–end–
Dr. Lawrence Wittner, syndicated by PeaceVoice, is Professor of History emeritus at SUNY/Albany and the author of Confronting the Bomb (Stanford University Press).
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With Americans working an average of almost 1,800 hours per year and the average worker using only 54% of their available vacation time, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2019’s Hardest-Working States in America as well as accompanying videos.
In order to determine where Americans work the hardest, WalletHub compared the 50 states across ten key metrics. The data set ranges from average workweek hours to share of workers with multiple jobs to annual volunteer hours per resident.
How Hard Does Utah Work? (1=Best, 25=Avg.)
For the full report, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/hardest-working-states-in-america/52400/
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A new study has compared DUI-related legislation and penalties across all 50 US states in order to determine those with the strictest (and most lenient) DUI laws. According to the rating system, Utah ranked as the second strictest state overall.
If you're interested in considering this study, I've included the press release below as it provides a nice overview of the main findings.
Please do let me know if you have any questions. I'm also happy to connect you with someone from Siegfried & Jensen if you'd like to set up an interview.
Cheers,
Britt
MINNESOTA, UTAH AND GEORGIA REVEALED AS
STATES WITH STRICTEST DUI LAWS IN THE U.S.
A new study has ranked all U.S. states based on their DUI laws and penalties in order to reveal those that are the strictest and those that are most lenient when it comes to driving under the influence.
While South Dakota was identified as the state with the most lenient laws and legislation, Wyoming and New Mexico followed closely behind.
The cost of driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol can vary greatly depending on where you are in the U.S., new research from Siegfried & Jensen reveals. By analyzing each state’s statistics on impaired driving fatalities as well as impaired driving injuries and comparing that info to their individual laws and penalties, the study ranked each state on a scale of 1 to 100 to show which have the most severe DUI consequences.
Minnesota was found to have the highest percentage of repeat DUI offenders in the nation and Minnesotans who find themselves facing a second DUI charge will face some major penalties, including a maximum penalty of a year in jail and fines up to $3,000. As compared to other states in the nation, Minnesota also received the highest score when it comes to penalties for both jail time (4.9) and associated fines for a second DUI charge (2.9).
According to the rating system, the 10 U.S. with the strictest DUI laws are as follows:
State
Score (out of a total of 100)
Minnesota
76.7
Utah
69.4
Georgia
69.3
Delaware
64.7
Kansas
64.4
New York
64.3
Florida
63.4
New Jersey
62.4
Washington
62.1
Nebraska
61.6
On the other hand, South Dakota (20), Wyoming (25), New Mexico (35), North Dakota (37) and Maryland (39) were ranked as the five most lenient states.
According to the rating system, the 10 most lenient U.S. states when it comes to DUI penalties are below:
State
Score (out of a total of 100)
South Dakota
20.1
Wyoming
25.1
New Mexico
35.8
North Dakota
37.0
Maryland
39.4
Missouri
40.4
Montana
42.9
Idaho
42.9
Wisconsin
45.5
Colorado
46.4
- ENDS -
For more information, please contact:
Britt Klontz, Distilled
T 206.965.9265
About Siegfried & Jensen:
Siegfried & Jensen is a personal injury law firm that has been helping the people of Utah and its surrounding states since it launched in 1990. The firm specializes in automobile and semi-truck accidents and injuries, such as bicycle accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, drunk driving accidents and accidental death.
Methodology
The ranking is based on the following metrics and points pertaining to alcohol-impaired driving:
DUI Crashes & Arrests (30 points)
Fatalities per 100k population
Injuries per 100k population
DUI Arrests per 100k drivers
BAC (8 points)
BAC lower threshold
BAC threshold for increased penalty
DUI Jail Time (10 points)
1st DUI Minimum Jail Time
2nd DUI Minimum Jail Time
3rd DUI Minimum Jail Time
DUI fine (10 points)
1st DUI Minimum Fine
2nd DUI Minimum Fine
3rd DUI Minimum Fine
License suspension (10 points)
1st DUI License Suspension
2nd DUI License Suspension
3rd DUI License Suspension
Further DUI Penalties (17 points)
# of DUIs a felony
Ignition interlocks
License plate impoundment
Vehicle confiscation
Supplementary DUI Laws (15 points)
Open Container Laws
Repeat Offender Laws
Alcohol Exclusion Laws Limiting Treatment
Each metric was assigned a numeric weight, with the total weight of all metrics adding up to 100.
The states received a score on each of the metrics based on their impaired crash statistics, BAC limits, DUI, fines, penalties and relevant legislation. States with the highest scores were deemed strictest, while states with the lowest scores - most lenient.
Numeric factors (fatalities, jail times, fines, penalties) were scored proportionally, whereby a higher/lower value was assigned a higher/lower score. Legislation factors were scored on a yes/no basis, whereby a state got maximum points for having the relevant law and 0 points for not having it.
--
Britt Klontz
PR Consultant, Distilled
Twitter / LinkedIn
ᐧ
Seattle: (206) 965-9265
Website: www.distilled.net
